The Pitch That Killed: Carl Mays, Ray Chapman and the Pennant Race of 1920

In 1920, major league baseball player Ray Chapman was killed by a pitch made by Carl Mays. This book tells the backstory of the players involved in this tragic event as well as that of the year’s pennant race. Notable names, such as Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb, make an appearance to give the story context. I had mixed feeling about this book.

On the plus side:
• I learned the details about this tragedy, which ultimately led to mandatory use of batting helmets many years later
• It was interesting comparing modern day baseball to 1920’s baseball, where a player might get a “ground rule” double because his ball hit a policeman’s horse or a game getting called due to darkness or parents handing small children onto the field to show more shake Babe Ruth’s hand after a home run or fans being charged with petty larceny for keeping balls hit into the stands

On the minus side:
• Too much detail for my taste, including blow by blow accounts of many individual games
• Numerous formatting issues, such as spelling errors, inconsistent use of quotation marks, and misplaced hyphens in the e-book
• It lacked a personal connection to the players; instead, it was a straight-forward narrative telling what happened first, second, third, etc. I guess I just didn’t care for the style of the author, which is an individual taste.

Recommended to those who enjoy detailed stories of the history of baseball. show less

A fantastic book for any baseball fan, especially a fan of baseball history.

Only one person has ever died from the result of an incident on a major league baseball field and that man was Ray Chapman of the Cleveland Indian during the 1920 baseball season. This book tells the story of Ray Chapman and the pitched that killed, but also tells so much more, including the pitcher, Carl Mays.

Carl Mays and Babe Ruth were cornerstones of the pitching staff for the Boston Red Sox 1916 and 1918 championship teams. Mays, unliked by nearly everyone in baseball due to his overall manner as well as continually leading the league in hit batsmen, was traded to the Yankees during the 1919 season and Ruth joined the Yankees through the infamous trade show more after the 1919 season.

Then came the 2020 season and the tight pennate race all season long between the Cleveland Indians, defending champions Chicago White Sox, and the New York Yankees. Mays started the season struggling for the Yankees, Ruth demolished his own home run record of 29 by hitting 54, Chapman, in the prime of his career, decided 1920 was his last season, and the infamous Black Sox Scandal broke leading to the suspension of 8 players of the 1919 Chicago White Sox.

In this book, evidence is given that the 1921 and 1922 New York Yankees also threw games in the World Series which involved Carl Mays. I had never heard this speculation before, and though we will never know for sure, the evidence if strong enough to create doubt.

Again, this book is wonderful covering players, owners, and managers during the early days of baseball and covers every aspect of the 1920 season. Mays and Chapman, along with the Yankees and Indians, are the main focus, but baseball as a whole is covered. show less

2261 The Pitch That Killed, by Mike Sowell (read 6 Jan 1990) This is the story of Ray Chapman, Cleveland Indian shortstop, killed by a bean ball thrown by Carl Mays, New York Yankee pitcher, on Aug 11, 1920, at the Polo Grounds in New York, where the Yankees then played their home games. The book is written in sportswriter language--a 15-year-old can understand every word. But I found it very good in recreating that simpler age in baseball, when a dollar was worth a dollar. The book tells of the 1920 American League pennant race (deemed no. 21, on the list of 25 Greatest Pennant Race [as of 1987]). It also says that Mays was accused of throwing a game in the 1921 World Series, and that that suspicion is what kept Carl Mays out of the show more Hall of Fame--not the fact that his pitch killed Ray Chapman. Chapman is the only person killed in major league play. The book is well-researched, full of things one wants to know about all involved in the year. show less

Elegaic. Any baseball fans who like to read have already discovered it, but this tale transcends baseball.

The most facinating book on baseball that I've ever read.